The present invention relates to a plug-in connector for plugging in optical light.
Plug-in connectors for connecting a circuit board with a back plane are known to a person skilled in the art, in many different embodiments. These plug-in connectors connect the back plane with an interchangeable circuit board, whereby both a mechanical connection and a signal transmission take place via the plug-in connector, between the circuit board and the back plane. Thus, this connection usually requires standardized electrical contact connectors transmission lines for transmitting electrical signals from the back plane to the circuit board or back.
Because of the increasing miniaturization of electronic components, as well as the constantly increasing demands with regard to transmission performance, glass-fiber lines have been increasingly used for the transmission of signals. These signals are transmitted not electrically, but rather optically. This design allows significantly increased transmission rates as compared with a conventional electrical means of transmission. Furthermore, using this connection, any interference in the electrical signals as the result of interference or improper shielding in the signal lines is avoided.
Thus, an optical signal connection device for insertions of an insertion frame is known from German Patent DE 40 03 056 A1, wherein an optical signal is transmitted from a first insertion to a second insertion, via a light-wave guide. A laser diode module is used for transmitting.
Furthermore, a FLEXIBLE CIRCUITS WITH STRAIN RELIEF is known from European Patent EP 1 195 629 A2. This device comprises a plug having a plurality of optical fibers arranged in it, which are embedded in a flexible material.
In the case of the plug-in connectors known up to the present, the situation is that an opto-electronic converter is arranged on the back plane, wherein this converter converts the signal coming from the glass-fiber line into an electrical signal, and wherein this signal is passed into the plug and on from there by way of corresponding electrical connections. A converter can be used at the interface between the plug-in connector and the circuit board, if it is desired to pass the signal on, at the circuit board, via an optical means of transmission.
This type of a device, which includes a module for parallel optical data transmission, is known from German Patent No. DE 199 20 638 C2, wherein this module is equipped with a coupling assembly having several optical channels. In addition, converters are provided for optical signal transmission, which emit light into light-wave guide segments.
Furthermore, a multi-pole electrical plug-in connector device is known from DE 37 03 423 C2, in which the light from its light sources is deflected by 90°, via a light guide means, indicated there with reference number 13.
Accordingly, the plug-in connector with its electrical means of transmission represents a bottleneck in the transmission of signals. In addition, because of the opto-electrical conversion, transmission losses always occur, which result in undesirable attenuation or interference of the signal.
Proceeding from this state of the art, a person skilled in the art is confronted with the task of improving a plug-in connector so that it allows loss-free transmission of signals at increased transmission capacity. By using a plug-in connector, optical signals do not need to be converted to electrical signals so that there is increased transmission capacity and a reduced amount of interference errors.